Project Grant 2603996

The National Science Foundation Division of Chemistry awarded the University of Delaware $599,150 on September 1, 2026, to support photo-controlled polymerization research led by Dr. Christopher Kloxin with co-investigator Dr. Darrin Pochan under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049).

The research develops a new approach to building highly organized nanomaterials by combining protein-like building blocks with synthetic polymers using bundlemers—nanocylinders that serve as molecular scaffolds to guide polymer chain growth. The work will quantify how initiator position, linker chemistry, initiator density, and bundlemer surface charge affect initiation efficiency and polymerization control during surface-initiated photoinduced atom transfer radical polymerization. A second objective will determine how growing polymer chains interact with bundlemer surfaces. The research explores light-controlled, water-based chemical processes to make material synthesis more precise and efficient, with potential applications in high-performance materials, energy technologies, and healthcare products requiring precise molecular-structure control.

The project runs through August 31, 2029, with performance at Newark, Delaware. The work will train graduate and undergraduate students in chemistry, materials science, data analysis, and scientific communication. Research results and methods will be shared through publications and public data repositories, with outreach activities introducing high school students to self-assembly, biomaterials, and polymer growth from protein-like materials.